The Democratic governor made the comments Wednesday after a tour of the southeast Washington site. The governor told reporters on the tour that there is no technology that can stop the leaks.

“The bad news is that unfortunately there will be some continuing leakage in these tanks while we’re experiencing this," Inslee says. "However, there is a very active pump and treating system -- you may have seen as we were driving by -- a brand new pump and treat system that is showing great success.”

That treatment system pumps out contaminated groundwater at Hanford and replaces it with water that meets regulatory standards. Separately, Wednesday, the Department of Energy announced that salt caves in the New Mexico desert are its preferred resting place for a small portion of Hanford's radioactive tank waste.